Vice president at Coca-Cola shares insight on branding and marketing

Dara Redler was a guest speaker in Assistant Professor of Marketing Kacy Kim’s Principles of Marketing and Integrated Marketing Communications classes on Oct. 28, and talked about how Coca-Cola has successfully branded its product. She discussed Coca-Cola’s brand standards and how these are woven into every facet of its marketing. The standards include:

• Create brand love: a relationship with the consumer
• When you think about Coke, think happiness, community, togetherness and authenticity
• Create a story: Coke is not just a commodity; it’s a feeling and memory.

Redler also discussed putting the standards into a campaign and specifically talked about the “Share a Coke” campaign. The role of Coke was to facilitate an emotional connection through sharing a Coke together with the idea in mind that the best moments in life are the ones we share with others. Coca-Cola successfully carried out this campaign with a six-step marketing strategy: packaging, activate for consumers, film, digital, PR/influencer kits and social sharing.

“Share a Coke” first launched in Australia in 2011 and has since expanded to more than 80 countries targeting teens and millennials. The main goal of the campaign was not about sales but instead about brand love. In three steps, Redler explained how the goal of reaching millennials was accomplished by having them discover it on their own by word of mouth, framing it to the “selfie” and “about me” generation and finding the connection about a moment worth sharing.

In concluding her presentation, Redler shared that “Share a Coke” included a 95 percent positive consumer sentiment.

Redler is vice president for Coca-Cola North America, a division of The Coca-Cola Company. Dara was previously responsible for Coca-Cola North America’s Retail Sales Division where she negotiated and drafted key relationship contracts to support customers, and reviewed and approved customer marketing programs and advertising. She is a graduate of Duke University School of Law, University of Pennsylvania and Hebrew University. Redler lives in Atlanta with her husband, Daniel, and their three sons, Alec, Jansen and Mason.